


And We'll Be Good

by Normal_Norman



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Daryl breaks, Daryl looked at Beth like a sister, Established Relationship, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Nothing more, Paul sings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 21:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10794771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Normal_Norman/pseuds/Normal_Norman
Summary: Daryl finds Paul singing beside a creek and when he realizes what Paul is singing, he breaks.





	And We'll Be Good

**Author's Note:**

> First, in my personal opinion, Daryl didn't look at Beth as anything more than the little sister he never had. He loved her like a sister.  
> Second, I know Be Good was released after the apocalypse had already started but the writers didn't give a shit when they had Emily sing it so, I'm not giving a shit when I have Paul sing it.   
> Now, go forth and enjoy.

Daryl didn't know where Paul went and he couldn't begin to guess. Paul was always running off somewhere and most of the time, Daryl just left him alone when he left. This time though, Daryl really needed to talk to him about the run they were going on in the morning. 

So, here he was; walking swiftly through the woods outside the Hilltop, eyes darting left and right, ears straining for any sound that could be remotely human, and fingers wrapped firmly around his crossbow that's hanging at his side. He pauses when he hears faint sounds to his left. He turns his head in that direction and sees something shining off in the distance. He quietly turns and picks up his swift pace from before. 

The sun will be setting soon and he really doesn't want to be out here in the dark alone. He's not scared but it's still unsettling to be in the dark with walkers roaming around everywhere. He shakes his head and picks up his pace a bit more. He's almost jogging now but he's still moving silently across the ground. 

He comes to a stop when he gets to what he saw shining 15 yards back; a creek. He looks left then right and that's when he sees Paul. He's sitting on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. Paul is staring blankly out across the creek. He hears the faint sound again and realizes that it's coming from Paul. Paul is sitting about 15 yards down the creek so it's hard to make out what Daryl is hearing but he's sure he's heard it before. 

Daryl walks forward slowly and quietly, ears straining to make out what he's hearing. He gets about 5 yards when he realizes that Paul is singing. He makes it another 5 before he realizes where he's heard that song. He stumbles another 3 before falling to his knees and he's vaguely aware of the fact that Paul is up and rushing to his side asking him what's wrong. 

He feels like he's in a daze. He can't hear anything that Paul is saying, he can't feel Paul's hand on his face, his vision blurs, and he's dropping forward onto his hands in the dirt. His arms are shaking from trying to hold up his weight. He can't breathe and he feels like he's being choked. 

He closes his eyes and all he can see is Beth sitting in that funeral home at the piano. The only sound in his ears is Beth's voice singing to him like a lullaby. All he can feel is Beth's arms wrapped around his waist. All he can taste is the moonshine from the cabin they found in the woods. 

Then the picture behind his eyelids changes to when they found Beth at the hospital in Atlanta. All he sees now is Beth's body crumpled on the linoleum floor and blood pooling around her head. The only sound he can hear is the sound of the gunshot that went through her head. All he can feel is Beth's limp body pressed against his chest. All he can taste is Beth's blood that splattered on his lips from the shot. 

The picture changes again and now all he sees is Paul on the day they met a year ago. All he can hear is Paul asking if they're going to shoot him over a truck. All he can feel is Paul's heavy body as he and Rick carried him into Tara and Denise’s house. All he can taste is the sweat that dripped into his mouth while chasing Paul around that field. 

The scene changes once again and now all he sees is Paul sprawled out on his bed with his chest rising and falling with every sleeping breath. All he hears is Paul whispering in his ear that he'll love him until he dies. All he feels is Paul’s arms wrapped around him the night Daryl told him that he loved him too. All he tastes is Paul. 

That feeling is enough to bring him back to reality. He takes in a shuddering breath and sits up. Now he hears Paul's frantic voice in front of him asking if he's okay. He slowly nods his head and opens eyes to look at the man in front of him. 

“Daryl, oh my god. Daryl, what's wrong?” Paul asks as he puts his hands on Daryl's face. Daryl can feel the sweat running down his forehead and blinks as a drop falls into his eye. It's not particularly hot out but he knows why he's sweating. 

“Beth,” is all he can croak out. He licks his lips and tries again, “before I lost Beth, she sang that song.”

He'd never told anyone what happened between being separated from the group and Beth getting taken until a few nights ago when he had a nightmare about it and Paul woke him up. Daryl told him everything but left out Beth singing while he laid in a casket. Paul had asked if he loved her like  _ that _ and Daryl truthfully told him that he didn't but he did love her like the sister he never had. He also told him that he still missed her terribly and still blames himself for her death. Paul didn't say a word but held him for the rest of the night and showered him with love and affection. Daryl was grateful that Paul never tried to get him to talk more about it.

Paul pulls him into a hug and Daryl weakly wraps his arms around him. Daryl finds some of his strength and hugs him back tighter as he buries his face in Paul's shoulder. Paul is rubbing his hair and whispering calming words into his ear. 

“I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I'm so sorry,” Paul says as he pulls back a little to make Daryl look at him. Daryl can see the guilt on his face and it breaks his heart again. Daryl moves his hand to put it on Paul's cheek and he smiles a little when Paul leans his head into the touch. 

“You're right, you didn't know. You don't have to be sorry. If we're bein’ honest, you sing that song pretty good. Sing some more of it. Please,” Daryl says with a small smile. He watches as Paul closes his eyes and nods. 

“ _ Now I've got friendships to mend. I'm selfishly dispossessed. You don't wanna be my boyfriend. And that's probably for the best. Because that, that gets messy and you will hurt me or I'll disappear. So we will drink beer all day and our guards will give way and we'll be good,”  _ Paul sings quietly as the sun slowly sets behind him. Daryl grins and pulls him into a kiss that's full of every emotion running through him. He's breathless when they pull apart so he rests his forehead on Paul's and closes his eyes. 

“Thank you,” Daryl whispers to the man he loves. He hears Paul let out a shaky breath and it tickles his neck. Daryl laughs a little and opens his eyes. He pulls back and sees tears running down Paul's face. 

“You're welcome,” Paul chokes out. Daryl wipes away the tears and kisses his forehead. He's exhausted and ready to go home, so he stands then extends a hand to Paul. Paul takes it and Daryl pulls him to his feet. Daryl bends down to grab his crossbow and squeezes Paul's hand as they walk back toward the Hilltop. 

Daryl doesn't know what happened to him back there but he feels a sense of relief as he walks through the gates. He does know that he wants Paul to sing to him more often. He also knows that Beth would’ve loved Paul just as much as he does and would be incredibly happy for him for finally finding something in this world worth living for. 

Daryl doesn't believe in heaven or hell but he knows that Beth did and he's sure that if either are real, she's in heaven with her dad watching down on him. He throws a glance up toward the pink and orange sky then with a smile, he flips it off and walks into Paul's trailer. 


End file.
